Furnace charger



May 14, 1940.

J. N. RICHARDSON FURNACE CHARGER Y Filed April 26, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 [mush/2507C" j/L/Z/ZWW 7, w

M y 1940- r J. N. RICHARDSON unmcrs CHARGER Fiied April 26,1937

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 y 1940- J. N. RICHARDSION FURNACE CHARGER Filed April 26, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 may,

Patented May 14, 1940 STATES PATENT oFFici:

FURNACE CHARGER John N. Richardson, Chicago, 111. Application April 26, 1937, Serial No. 139,037

15 Claims.

This invention relates in general to a skip hoist type of charger with a vertical cone discharging bucket.

An important object of the invention is in the provision of an economical and efiicient charger of relatively lightweight structure in which the charging bucket is moved from a position outside or in front of the track at the bottom through the track and to the inside of its discharging position at the top.

Further objects of the invention are: to provide an improved support for the bucket and the bottom discharge cone by means of which the bottom is dropped at a greater distance from the bucket; to counterbalance the bucket and carriage adjacent the top of the hoist; to provide cushioning. means for the return of the counterweight; to provide a single hoist cable with equalizing and safety means; to provide an improved track grip for the carriage in the discharge position; to provide an improved support for the bucket in loading position; and in general to produce the construction herein shown and described.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter, the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side View partly in section illustrating the invention as applied to a furnace to be charged;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail illustrating the loading position of the charger;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; I

Fig. 5 is an elevation of the upper part of the hoist as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a detail side view, and Fig. '7 is a detail plan view of the carriage hoisting mechanism and the equalizing cable;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged section taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 9 is a sectional view of one of the tracks as taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 1.

In this invention a charging bucket is moved by means of a carrier mounted upon a skip hoist track from a position in front of the track to a charging position on the opposite side of the track, picking up a counter-weight near the top of its travel and having a mounting for gripping the track in the discharge position and for producing a greater opening movement of the bottom than is possible with the ordinary cone bucket discharge.

Other features of novelty will be apparent and pointed out in the drawings and specification.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the invention comprises an inclined skip hoist for charging furnaces, having tracks mounted above and below the wheels Ii! of a carriage I l. Each track comprises a rail I2 mounted upon an angle bar i3 which comprises a portion of the supporting frame which forms a hoist.

At the bottom of the hoist the rails have curved sections it and 5 to position the carriage at such an angle that a bucket it carried thereby is disposed in upright or load ng position, usually in a pit or depression so that its top is flush with the ground or a loading curb i! as shown more clearly in Figs. 1 and 2.

At the upper end of the hoist the lower rails at each side are formed with a curved portion l8 and the supporting angle bars are formed or provided with an end abutment H! for limiting the movement of the front wheels'of the carriage. The upper rails at each side are formed with arcuate portions 20 curved about the axis of the abutment at the end of the lower rails with the radius equal to the distance included by the outer edges of the wheel at one side of the carriage so that the carriage may be lifted about its rear or lower end through the arc of the curved upper rails 28 about the axis of the front wheels in engagement with the abutment.

In order to raise and lower the carriage an electric motor 2! and a suitable reduction gearing 22 are connected to a driving shaft 23 at the upper end of the supporting framework and upon this shaft are winding drums 24, one for each side of the carriage. A single cable 25 is attached at its ends to each of the drums 24 and the intermediate portion of the cable extends downwardly over a pulley 26 at each end of the rear drive wheel and then over a pulley 21 at each side of the frame of the carriage ll (see Figs. 6 and '7) and through the frame where a projection 28 is secured to the cable intermediate the sides of the carriage. If the cable should break on either side of the projection 28, the projection would be moved against the opposite side of the carriage, thus providing a safety means for preventing the carriage from falling.

The bucket it is pivotally supported at opposite sides near its top by arms 29 of bell cranks 30 pivoted at the inner sides of the carriage upon pivot pins 3| which coincide with or form the bearings for the front wheels Ill. At the extremity of each other arm 32 of the bell crank is an outwardly extending projection 33 sufiicient in length to engage under the lower rail I2 or the angle bar support l3. However it engages in this manner only when the rear end of the carriage is raised with respect to the front end, which occurs at the top of the runway and the bucket is then held in fixed or rigid charging position. In each of the arms 29 attached to the bucket there is a longitudinal slot 34 which allows the apex of the bell crank to be moved away from the pivot as the bucket is swung through and with respect to the carriage H.

To support the bucket and to move it on its arms 29 in the carriage, a. cross bar 35 is supported at the ends of links 36, the other ends of which are connected to angular extensions 31 of the front end of the carriage by means of cross pieces 38, the entire assembly forming an angular supporting crane for a conical dumping bottom 39 for the bucket. Extending upwardly from the bottom is a rigid bar 40 and connecting the upper end of the bar with the cross bar 35 is a flexible support or chain 4|. The purpose of this angular supporting structure is to provide a dumping bottom support which is moved by the upward swinging movement of the carriage to lower the bottom supporting crane from its upward position as shown in Fig. 4 to its extreme lower position in which the links 36 extend downwardly into the top of the bucket, thus making possible the greatest movement of the dumping bottom for the angular swinging movement of the carriage.

As the carriage approaches the upper end of its travel it is desirable to cushion its movement and to provide a counterweight for returning the carriage from its upper raised position. For this purpose each side plate of the rear end of the carriage is provided with a hook 42 at its extremity adapted to engage an inward projection 43 at the upper end of a link 44 connected at its lower .end to a counter-weight 45 having wheels 46 for mounting it to roll freely upon the vertical web of the upper angle bar l3 which extends through a central slot 41 in the weight for its engagement with the wheels to provide a simple manner of mounting the counter-weight.

A link 48 extends from the lower end of each counter-weight into a coiled spring 49, the lower end of which is rigidly attached to a cross piece 50 and the upper end of which engages the lower or inner end of the link 48 when it is drawn outwardly to the upper end of the spring. Thus when the lost motion is taken up between the link 48 and the spring 49, the spring is also placed in tension, acting as a further cushioning means and counter-weight for the carriage.

Mounted on each side frame angle bar below the spring 49 is an abutment 5|. An extended coil spring 52 carried by the counter-weight 45 extends from the counter-weight 45 to engage the abutment 5| so that as the counter-weight is raised this spring is extended and when the counter-weight is returned the spring 52 engages the abutment, partially compressing it, thus acting as a cushion for the counter-weight and preventing a violent pumping of the counter-weight and also assisting the first upward movement of the counter-weight.

In its lowermost or loading position the bucket is supported by the rigid arm of the carriage in upright position, the bell cranks 30 being moved at this time so that the bearing pivots 3| are intermediate the ends of the slots 34, and not at one end thereof as shown in the limiting position in Fig. 4. Thus the bucket is really supported by its conical bottom, the bell cranks extending loosely from the top of the bucket and since the lower end of the carriage is offset from the main straight portion of the tracks l2 by the curved extensions 4 and I5 thereof, a pulley or pulleys 53 are located at the lower ends of the straight portions of the track so that the lifting cable 25 may pass over them to the lower or rear wheel shafts of the carriage. ihus when the carriage is raised by its motor the cable extending around the pulleys 53 will exert a more direct pull upon the carriage.

In operation the bucket is located at the lower or filling position, the carriage including the bucket is moved upwardly by the motor 2| and its winding drums 24; the straightening movement of the carriage with respect to the track swings the bucket closer to the track over the carriage until the upper curved portion of the lower rails I8 is reached. As the raising is continued, the rear wheels of the carriage are moved away from the lower track against the upper track and when it aproaches the position shown in Fig. 4 with the main portion of the carriage substantially in a horizontal plane, the hooks 42 of the carriage pick up the counter-weights, the bucket [6 has been swung through the carriage and through the supporting tracks, extending the bucket supporting bell cranks 38 and rocking them about their pivots 3| until their projections 33 engage under the tracks or the track supports whereupon the bucket is set in position and cannot be further lowered. of the carriage upwardly causes the bottom supporting crane to be rocked about the axis 3| of the front wheels and the weight of the load in the bucket on the bottom causes the downward discharging movement of the bottom, the cross piece 35 being projected into the top of the bucket and the flexible chain 4| allowing the bottom supporting rod 40 to maintain a central position due to the load in the bucket surrounding the rod 40, even though the cross piece 35 is swung outwardly away from the center of the bucket.

In the return movement of the bucket the actions above described are reversed, the counterweight lowering the carriage raising the bottom 39 and then disengaging the supporting bell cranks from the under side of the lower tracks. Continued downward movement disengages the counter-weights and brings them into cushioning engagement with the springs 52, the counter-balance springs 49 return to their normal compressed condition receiving the take-up links 48 therein and the bucket then continuing to the lowermost or loading position.

In this movement of the bucket from the loading to the discharging position, it passes from the front side of the tracks, through the tracks, and through the upper portion of the carriage to the discharging position, and in the lowering movement the bucket moves in the reverse direction.

By providing a ledge 39' (Fig. 4) for seating the lower edge of the bucket l6 set below the angle of discharge of the cone 39, the material slides past and does not lodge on the ledge, leaving the bucket seat clear.

I claim:

1. A furnace charger comprising an inclined runway, a wheeled carriage movable on the runway, a bottom discharge bucket and pivotally supporting means for the bucket and the bottom dis- The continued movement of the rear y charge at one end of the carriage, the runway having curved portions at the top and bottom for swinging the carriage to support the bucket in upright position in front of the runway and through the runway to an upright charging position at the other side of the runway, and means for operating the bucket discharge by a swinging movement of the carriage.

2. In a furnace charger, a wheeled carriage and a track therefor, a bucket having a movable bottom discharge, supports at one end of the carriage for the bucket and the bottom thereof, the bucket supports being movable in the carriage, means for raising one end of the carriage from the track in the discharge position of the bucket, the bucket holding means being engageable with the track when the carriage is raised and the bottom holding means being rocked by the carriage to separate the bottom from the bucket in discharging the contents thereof.

In a furnace charger, a movable carriage and a track therefor, a bucket, means pivoted to the carriage and to opposite sides of the bucket and adapted to engage under the track for holding the bucket in discharge position, a separate bottom for the bucket and an angular support at one end of the carriage for the bottom, the end of the angular support being moved by the carriage from a position above the bucket to a position within the bucket in dropping the bottom for discharging material from the bucket.

a. In a furnace charger, a carriage, a track upon which the carriage is movable having an abutment at its upper end for limiting such movement, a bucket having a movable bottom, means pivoted to one end of the carriage for pivotally mounting the bucket and having means to engage under the track for holding the bucket in discharged position, a rigid support extending at an angle upwardly from the carriage and. having a flexible connection from the end of the support to the bottom of the bucket, for supporting the bottom and the bucket for movement on the track, and means for varying the inclination of the carriage with respect to the bucket supporting means for dropping the bottom of the bucket in discharge position.

5. In a furnace charger, a movable carriage, a bucket having a movable discharge bottom, means for pivotally and slidably mounting the bucket on the carriage, a fixed support extending from the carriage and overhanging the bucket, a flexible connection from said support to the bottom of the bucket, the bucket supporting means having inward projections for holding the bucket in upright position at the bottom supporting end of the carriage, and means for raising the other end of the carriage, causing the bottom support to extend into the bucket when the carriage is inclined, thereby dropping the bottom with respect to the bucket.

6. In a furnace charger, a. movable bucket having a discharge bottom, separate means for supporting the bucket and the bottom comprising a carriage having an angular supporting hook overhanging the top of the bucket, and a flexible connection therefrom to the bottom, a pair of arms for pivotally mounting the bucket in the carriage, the arms having slots to permit the bucket to move toward and from the carriage, means for engaging the arms in discharge position, and means for moving the carriage with respect to the bucket in discharge position so that the extremity of the angular support will extend into and below the top of the bucket in moving the bottom therefrom in discharge position.

'7. In a furnace charger, an inclined track having upper and lower rails at each side and spaced apart adjacent the top, a carriage movable in the tracks, a bucket carried by the carriage at its front end, means for raising and lowering the carriage in the tracks and for swinging the rear of the carriage upwardly free from the lower rails adjacent the upper end thereof, the carriage having rear projections and a counter-balance including a weight supported by and movable upon the upper rails adapted to be engaged by said projections for movement with the carriage when the rear of the carriage is swung upwardly.

8. A structure in accordance with claim '7 in which the counter-weifght comprises. a buffer spring at its lower end and an abutment from which the spring moves and to which it returns as the counter-weight is raised and lowered by the carriage.

e. A structure in accordance with claim 7 in which the counter-balance includes a coiled spring mounted below the weight and connected thereto by a lost motion link for adding spring pressure to the weight at the upper limit of movemerit of the carriage.

10. In a furnace charger, an inclined track, a carriage movable on the track, hoisting means therefor comprising a winding drum at each side of the track, a single cable having its ends attached to and wound upon the drums, the intermediate pontion of the cable extending over pulleys at the sides of the carriage and through the sides of the frame thereof, with a fixed projection on the cable between the frame sides to engage either frame if the cable at the other side of the projection should break or slip.

11. In a structure in accordance with claim 10, a pair of pulleys at the outer sides of the frame upon the same transverse axis, and a pair of pulleys at right angles thereto for guiding the intermediate portion of the cable transversely through the carriage and the opposite side frames thereof, and the projection between the side frames being larger than the openings through the frame through which the cable passes so that it will engage'the inner side of either frame, depending upon the diiferential movement of the cable.

12. In a furnace charger, an inclined track, a carriage movable on the track, hoisting means for the carriage comprising two drums at the top of the track, a continuous cable attached to the two drums for hoisting and lowering the carriage, the cable having an intermediate portion between the two drums extending to the carriage, two sheaves at the sides of the carriage over which the intermediate portion of the cable runs from one side to the other of the carriage for equalization of pull, and a stop secured to the cable between the sheaves to hold the carriage if the cable at one side of the stop is broken.

13. In a furnace charger, an inclined track, a carriage movable on the track, a bucket having a movable bottom discharge cone, means for supporting the cone and the bucket to swing from one end of the carriage, hoisting means for raising and lowering the carriage on the track, means for arresting movement of the bucket at the top of the track, a combined spring and weight assembly to counterweight the cone and the stock carried by the bucket picked up by the carriage when the bucket is arrested whereby the hoisting means in further movement of the carthe carriage comprising winding drums at the top 1 of and substantially in line with the inclined portion of the track, and pulleys near the bottom at the beginning of the curved portion for engaging the cable in the lowermost position of the carriage to allow the lower end of the carriage to swing inwardlly with respect to the track without bending the intermediate portion of the cable out of alignment therewith.

15. In a furnace charger, an inclined track having a portion of less inclination at the top and an inwardly curved portion at the bottom, a

wheeled carriage movable on the track, a charging bucket having a movable discharge bottom, means for separately mounting the bucket and its bottom to swing through the frame and through the track from the loading to the discharging position, hoisting means for the carriage comprising a cable connected to the lower end of the carriage and extending substantially parallel to the intermediate portion of the track when the carriage is in its lowered position, a pulley adjacent the lower curved portion engaged by the cable when the carriage is inclined at the bottom for loading position, the bucket being carried by the bottom support except in its upper or discharge position, an abutment for the front end of the carriage at the top of the track, the hoisting means raising the rear end of the carriage about the abutment as an axis to swing the bottom of the bucket downwardly, and the supporting means for the bucket being engaged and holding the bucket in fixed position when the carriage is thus raised and is again lowered by the hoisting means.

JOHN N. RICHARDSON. 

